So let’s get this out-of-the-way. The main character is so annoying but she’s funny so I forgive her for that. She is a quintessential mean girl who thinks that the only way for her to succeed is for others to fail. I’m really glad I read this book before reading her sister’s book (didn’t know existed until I was halfway through) because if I had, I don’t think I could’ve gotten behind the main character at all. 

This is not a hard book to read, the big big reveal that comes about is extremely easy to guess. At no point do they really try to hide it? If you can guess something is gonna happen you’re probably right and in the instances in which you’re not what you imagined was probably better. There were lots of times I was reading where I was giving the book too much credit and also expecting it to solidify itself into a single genre. 

This book tries to be a murder mystery, a romance, a period drama, a found family story, and a paranormal thriller, and somehow fails to adequately be any of them. But like a jack of all trades, it manages to be just enough of all of them to be interesting. I will say that the main characters point of view was arguably the most boring point of view that the author could’ve chosen. 

We have mentions of this obscure war, talks of conquered nations (is her sister book a colonizer romance?), but it’s all just there for backdrop. It doesn’t affect the plot pretty much at all. We have murders going on that are treated extremely casually. It is a pallet cleanser read. It got me out of my slump so I have to enjoy it.

That said, I knew that the resolution to all of the issues the main couple faced were going to be fixed within a page. “ hey I know I tried to kill you multiple times, and I exposed the secret that you specifically begged me to keep safe. And I quite literally called out a hit on you from a magical demon man because that was the only person that could kill you, but I think you’re hot so we can just put that all behind us right?” And by golly they did.

Don’t go into this book looking for substance go into it looking for vibes. That’s why I have it rated a little bit lower, because I do like a book that I can pick apart, but this one is pretty surface level. Regardless it was entertaining and I think I’m gonna grab the sister‘s book to see if that flushes out the world better. if it does, I may come back and change this rating because I may just not have all the available context. 


Edit—so I’m back from halfway through the sister’s book and yes. The sister’s love interest is proud Colonizer and so is the sister. Also the sister is insufferable. Unfortunately she isn’t funny insufferable like the MC of this book, she’s just insufferable. The sisters book does to a better job at being a murder mystery so far, but that really all it has going for it.